El paper se pregunta en qué medida la democracia -o sea, una democracia ecológica- puede ocuparse del Antropoceno, la nueva era geológica que describe una masiva penetración humana en los sistemas naturales. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Andalucía Tech
Although populism is not a new phenomena, its rise in the aftermath of the financial crisis presents some novelties that are worth exploring. Mostly, they refer to the transformation of the public sphere in the digital era, which has changed how political actors and citizens relate to each other and hence the discursive and non-discursive practices chosen by the former. This includes a more direct communication between populist leaders and their base, the creation of channels that sideline those of the mainstream media, as well as the emergence of "post-truth" as a framework that gives new value to narratives as conveyors of political values that disrupt established social conventions. In order to understand these features -which, their novelty notwithstanding, do not change populism's "thin" ideological core- attention is due to the emotional dimension of populist practices. Strictly speaking, they are not new: new are the lens through which we observe them after the affective turn experienced by social sciences in the last decade. Yet social networks are in themselves rather affective technologies, fostering an emotionally charged communication and facilitating the means by which individuals can feel engaged with their "moral tribe" -isolating themselves from other discourses or narratives. This paper will reflect upon these transformations from the vantage point of political theory, emphasizing how the digitization of the public sphere has influenced the way in which populist actors across liberal democracies create their publics and address them, as well as the increasing relevance of affects in explanations about political life. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.
La comunicación aborda la pregunta acerca de si la desigualdad socioeconómica es no un problema de naturaleza política. Por el camino, se ocupa de las causas de la desigualdad en la era global, así como de atender a los efectos del resentimiento sobre la democracia en lo que a la demanda de igualdad se refiere. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.
The related notions of habitation and habitability offer a very promising way for framing the conversation about the issues around which environmental political theory has gravitated from its inception: sustainability, environmental justice, preservation. However, the connection between the two must probably be revised in order to produce an ideal of habitation that is useful in the current sociopolitical context. This paper seeks to clarify their mutual relations and explores the way for the politicization of habitation. Underlining the role of nonintentional actions in the past history of habitation, it will argue that, in order to politicize habitation, the latter must be made salient -so that citizens realize that the socionatural relation is not that 'natural'. Ernesto Laclau's notion of the political as an uncovering of contingencies may be useful, while the Lacanian notion of fantasy may be used to explain the gap between current (instrumental) modes of habitation and pervasive (Arcadian) ideals of it. As to how can the relation between habitation and habitability be effectively politicized, this paper will argue that it is the political, rather than politics, what offers a most promising path for re-imagining habitation in our complex and ambivalent societies. Ecological citizenship and newly created spaces for nature are sketched as strategies for politicizing habitation. Bioregionalism is recovered as a radical politics of habitation whose flaws must be avoided if habitation is to be reframed in a mostly urban, hypertechnological world. In this regard, the paper also develops a particular narrative for a reframed habitation, a 'clever adaptation' understood as a regulatory ideal towards which different actions and discourses can be directed. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
De acuerdo con los datos amasados por los científicos naturales, la colonización humana de la naturaleza ha alcanzado tal grado que hay razones para pensar que hemos dejado atrás el Holoceno para adentrarnos en una nueva era geológica caracterizada por la influencia humana sobre el funcionamiento del sistema planetario global: el Antropoceno. Lejos de constituir una mera curiosidad científica, esta recategorización de las relaciones entre el ser humano y medio ambiente global representa un giro epistemológico de profundas consecuencias normativas, que plantea nuevos desafíos para la especie en su conjunto a la vez que nos empuja hacia esa autorrepresentación. Esta ponencia expondrá los orígenes y el contenido de esta rompedora hipótesis, prestando especial atención a la teoría política del Antropoceno. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech.
Among the normative questions posed by the supposed advent of the Anthropocene is the following: Does the Anthropocene spell the end of nature? The philosophical answer to that question may determine the political answer to the phenomenon that is described by this geological-cum-historical notion. In this paper, I will argue that, although the signs are mixed, the Anthropocene does indeed confirm that nature has ended in a particular yet important way - but that such ending does not preclude further reflection about the human relation with the environment. In fact, such recognition makes possible another understanding of the task that lie ahead: a reflective re-organization of socionatural relations and a reconceptualization of sustainability. ; Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech
La insatisfactoria constitución teórica de que adolece un ecologismo político que permanece presa de aquellos valores que históricamente lo fundaron, pero cuya revisión es impostergable, demanda su reformulación como teórica política. Esta Tesis Doctoral pretende llevarla a cabo, mediante una reconstrucción normativa que culmina en una autentica refundación de la política verde, que encuentra en nuevos valores y postulados los medios para su despliegue. Una vez presentada la visión que los verdes tienen de la historia y del pensamiento occidentales, en los que buscan las raíces de la actual crisis ecológica, se discute la verdadera condición de esta, que es un instrumento retórico y una interpretación de la realidad antes que una evidencia incontestable. La concepción verde de la naturaleza es después objeto de atención y de critica, a la luz de las consecuencias normativas de largo alcance de su adopción tiene para el ecologismo. La apuesta por una comprensión realista del mundo natural y de las relaciones socioambientales es el punto de partida para una depuración normativa y conceptual que alcanza al dominio de la naturaleza, el dualismo hombre-mundo natural, proclama el fin de la naturaleza y la vigencia durante la modernidad de la concepción marxista de lo natural. Asimismo, la construcción de una nueva política verde va a reclamar la revisión de las paradójicas relaciones del ecologismo con la ciencia, de su utopismo subyacente, de la otra cara de la sustentabilidad o de la tendencia a la traducción normativa de las leyes de la naturaleza. Solo asi será posible construir una política verde cuyos dos principios rectores sean la democratización de la democracia y el principio de sustentabilidad. Será precisamente la peculiar comprensión de este último como principio de índole normativa la que facilite la realización simultanea de esos dos principios rectores en un modelo normativo de democracia verde que culmina el proceso de reconstrucción
This book brings together the most current thinking about the Anthropocene in the field of Environmental Political Theory ('EPT'). It displays the distinctive contribution EPT makes to the task of thinking through what 'the environment' means in this time of pervasive human influence over natural systems. Across its chapters the book helps develop the idea of 'socionatural relations'--an idea that frames the environment in the Anthropocene in terms of the interconnected relationship between human beings and their surroundings. Coming from both well-established and newer voices in the field, the chapters in the book show the diversity of points of view theorists take toward the Anthropocene idea, and socionatural relations more generally. However, all the chapters exemplify a characteristic of work in EPT: the self-conscious effort to provide normative interpretations that are responsive to scientific accounts. The Introduction explains the complicated interaction between science and EPT, showing how it positions EPT to consider the Anthropocene. And the Afterword, by a pioneer in the field, relates all the chapters to a perspective that has been deeply influential in EPT. This book will be of interest to scholars already engaged in EPT. But it will also serve as an introduction to the field for students of Political Theory, Philosophy, Environmental Studies, and related disciplines, who will learn about the EPT approach from the Introduction, and then see it applied to the pressing question of the Anthropocene in the ensuing chapters. The book will also help readers interested in the Anthropocene from any disciplinary perspective develop a critical understanding of its political meanings.
Although environmental policy has experienced a process of normalization within the general frame of public policies, it still retains a certain degree of exceptionality due to its very subject: socio-natural relationships. Such singularity stems from the technical complexities and increasing globalisation of environmental problems. In this regard, Spanish environmental policy has traditionally been dependent on the European Union as a normative source. As such, it is to be re-organized according to the new, emerging theoretical frame for environmental policy –based upon sustainability, ecological modernization and environmental governance. However, the Europeanization of sustainable development shows several limits, which point out to the contradiction between protection and development that summarizes the crossroads in which environmental policy stands. ; Aunque la política ambiental ha experimentado un proceso de normalización dentro del marco general de las políticas públicas, todavía conserva un cierto grado de excepcionalidad debido a su propio tema: las relaciones socio-naturales. Dicha singularidad se deriva de las complejidades técnicas y la creciente globalización de los problemas ambientales. En este sentido, la política medioambiental española ha dependido tradicionalmente de la Unión Europea como fuente normativa. Como tal, debe reorganizarse de acuerdo con el nuevo marco teórico para la política ambiental, basado en la sostenibilidad, la modernización ecológica y la gobernanza ambiental. Sin embargo, la europeización del desarrollo sostenible muestra varios límites, que señalan la contradicción entre protección y desarrollo que resume la encrucijada en que se encuentra la política ambiental.